Popular Songs Of 1966, Vol. 1

Ahh...the 1960s. When I think of "oldies music," this is the era and these are the songs that come to mind. Motown, the British invasion, psychedelia, soaring harmonies, and blue-eyed soul. It was a hodgepodge of wonderful encapsulated in an unforgettable decade. Unforgettable even though I wasn't yet alive to experience it firsthand. That says a lot about the music this decade left behind. Without further ado, here's Part 1 of 3 of the most Popular Songs of 1966. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  The Association  ~  “Cherish”

2)  The Righteous Brothers  ~  “(You’re My) Soul And Inspiration”

3)  The Four Tops  ~  “(Reach Out) I’ll Be There”

4)  Question Mark & The Mysterians  ~  “96 Tears”

5)  The Monkees  ~  “Last Train To Clarksville”

6)  The Mamas & The Papas  ~  “Monday, Monday”

7)  The Supremes  ~  “You Can’t Hurry Love”

8)  Johnny Rivers  ~  “Poor Side Of Town”

9)  The Lovin’ Spoonful  ~  “Summer In The City”

10)  Frank Sinatra  ~  “Strangers In The Night”

11)  Simon & Garfunkel  ~  “The Sound Of Silence”

12)  The Young Rascals  ~  “Good Lovin’”

13)  Tommy James & The Shondells  ~  “Hanky Panky”

14)  Percy Sledge  ~  “When A Man Loves A Woman”

15)  The Rolling Stones  ~  “Paint It Black”

16)  The Troggs  ~  “Wild Thing”

17)  Donovan  ~  “Sunshine Superman”

18)  Bobby Hebb  ~  “Sunny”

19)  The Happenings  ~  “See You In September”

20)  The Beach Boys  ~  “Good Vibrations”

“Natural” & “Artificial” Songs

As promised,  here's another set of "Opposites" featuring "Natural" and (this time) "Artificial" songs. What else can I say, but enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Moby  ~  “Natural Blues”

2)  Soul Asylum  ~  “Artificial Heart”

3)  Andrew Bird  ~  “Natural Disasters”

4)  Bobby Darin  ~  “Artificial Flowers”

5)  Gnarls Barkley  ~  “Run (I’m A Natural Disaster)”

6)  Demon Hunter  ~  “Artificial Light”

7)  Ryan Adams  ~  “Natural Ghost”

8)  Cherrelle  ~  “Artificial Heart”

9)  Keith Whitley  ~  “Don’t Our Love Look Natural?”

10)  Eleni Mandell  ~  “Artificial Fire”

11)  Lisa Stansfield  ~  “So Natural”

12)  The Sunset Curse  ~  “Artificial Heart”

13)  Kim Wilde  ~  “Love In The Natural Way”

14)  Typhoon  ~  “Artificial Light”

15)  Anathema  ~  “A Natural Disaster”

"Natural" & "Unnatural" Songs

Let's take a break from the ever-popular (by # of clicks at least) but seemingly endless series of "Popular Songs Of..." posts, and return to the somewhat-popular (but not as much so) world of "Opposites" posts. I had several good "Natural" songs I wanted to explore, but the songs for its (natural) opposite – "Unnatural" – were somewhat limited. So this is technically a two-part "Opposites" post. This time, "Natural" and "Unnatural" songs. Next time, "Natural" and "Artificial" songs (think ingredients). Ready or not, here they are...enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Merle Haggard  ~  “Natural High”

2)  GODS  ~  “Unnatural”

3)  Rush  ~  “Natural Science”

4)  Muse  ~  “Unnatural Selection”

5)  EPICA  ~  “Natural Corruption”

6)  Fearless Vampire Killers  ~  “Our Nature’s Unnatural”

7)  Jasmine Villegas  ~  “Natural”

8)  The Sun Explodes  ~  “The Unnatural”

9)  Live  ~  “Natural Born Killers”

10)  EZ Basic  ~  “Unnatural”

11)  Crowded House  ~  “It’s Only Natural”

12)  Bubbles Erotica  ~  “Super Unnatural”  (Don’t let the band’s questionable name scare you off – this song’s not half bad!)

13)  Lou Rawls  ~  “A Natural Man”

14)  Voter Kernel  ~  “Unnatural Gathering Of Animals”

15)  Aretha Franklin  ~  “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”

Popular Songs Of 1976, Vol. 3

Last but certainly not least...the final installment of the most Popular Songs of 1976. Plenty of familiar tunes here, as well as a few forgotten gems. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  KC and the Sunshine Band  ~  “That’s The Way (I Like It)”

2)  Wings  ~  “Let ‘Em In”

3)  George Benson  ~  “This Masquerade”

4)  Merle Haggard  ~  “The Roots Of My Raising”

5)  Fleetwood Mac  ~  “Rhiannon”

6)  Electric Light Orchestra  ~  “Evil Woman”

7)  Keith Carradine  ~  “I’m Easy”

8)  Don Williams  ~  “Till The Rivers All Run Dry”

9)  Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes ft. Teddy Pendergrass  ~  “Wake Up, Everybody”  (What a great song...unfortunately, its message is still very apropos today.)

10)  Crystal Gayle  ~  “I’ll Get Over You”

11)  John Travolta  ~  “Let Her In”  (This video is more interesting for the post-song interview than it is for the tune itself. Travolta excitedly tells Dick Clark about getting a role in his first "serious" movie, Carrie, which incidentally was the first film made from a Stephen King novel. He also mentions having acted in the stage version of Grease. Two years later, he would star in the film version of Grease, which became a smash hit.)

12)  Daryl Hall & John Oates  ~  “She’s Gone”

13)  Queen  ~  “You’re My Best Friend”

14)  Johnny Cash  ~  “One Piece At A Time”

15)  Rufus  ~  “Sweet Thing”  (Yes, that IS a young Chaka Khan.)

16)  Orleans  ~  “Still The One”

17)  Foghat  ~  “Slow Ride”

18)  Marty Robbins  ~  “El Paso City”  (What is it with Marty Robbins and hideously ugly shirts? Blame it on the '70s? Or is it simply Marty's bad sense of style?)

19)  Thin Lizzy  ~  “The Boys Are Back In Town”

20)  Candi Staton  ~  “Young Hearts Run Free”

21)  Peter Frampton  ~  “Baby, I Love Your Way”

22)  David Ruffin  ~  “Walk Away From Love”

23)  Steve Miller Band  ~  “Take The Money And Run / Rock’n Me”  (This is a classic "HOGO" video. Hear One, Get One Free! Both songs were big hits in '76.)

24)  England Dan & John Ford Coley  ~  “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight”  (I'd totally forgotten about this wonderfully catchy song!)

25)  George Jones & Tammy Wynette  ~  “Golden Ring”

Popular Songs Of 1976, Vol. 2

We now return to a funkier time, when the clothes were flashier, the hair was longer, and the music was...pretty good, actually. Here's Part 2 (of 3) of the most Popular Songs of 1976. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Ohio Players  ~  “Love Rollercoaster” 

2)  Eagles  ~  “Take It To The Limit”

3)  Bee Gees  ~  “You Should Be Dancing”

4)  Conway Twitty  ~  “This Time I’ve Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me”

5)  Vicki Sue Robinson  ~  “Turn The Beat Around”

6)  Lou Rawls  ~  “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”

7)  David Bowie  ~  “Golden Years”

8)  KC and the Sunshine Band  ~  “Shake Your Booty”

9)  Starbuck  ~  “Moonlight Feels Right”

10)  Maxine Nightingale  ~  “Right Back Where We Started From”

11)  Dr. Hook  ~  “Only Sixteen”

12)  The Bellamy Brothers  ~  “Let Your Love Flow”

13)  Gary Wright  ~  “Dream Weaver”

14)  Emmylou Harris  ~  “Together Again”

15)  Eric Carmen  ~  “All By Myself”

16)  Diana Ross  ~  “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To?)”

17)  Henry Gross  ~  “Shannon”

18)  Chicago  ~  “If You Leave Me Now”  (Video repeats itself in silence around the 3:50 mark. May as well stop watching it there. You won’t hear anything else anyway.)

19)  Peter Frampton  ~  “Show Me The Way”

20)  Aerosmith  ~  “Dream On”

21)  Tammy Wynette  ~  “You And Me”

22)  Boz Scaggs  ~  “Lowdown”

23)  John Sebastian  ~  “Welcome Back”

24)  Bay City Rollers  ~  “Saturday Night”

25)  Fleetwood Mac  ~  “Say You Love Me”